Historic Siwangdo panels returned to Sinheungsa temple

A Joseon-era Buddhist painting known as Siwangdo, believed to have been taken by U.S. forces after the Korean War, has returned to Sinheungsa Temple in Sokcho after more than 70 years. Max Hollein, director of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, which had held the painting, said at a news briefing at the KGIT Center in Seoul’s Mapo District on Nov. 14 that he was honored to return this valuable work in cooperation with the Sokcho Committee for the Restitution of Cultural Heritage and Sinheungsa.

Created as a set of 10 panels in 1798, the Siwangdo depicts the 10 kings who judge souls in the afterlife and reflects Buddhist views of the world beyond death. The work returned this time is titled "The Tenth King of the Fifth Palace" and portrays the final sovereign encountered in the cycle of afterlife judgments. After a soul is judged by this king, its place of rebirth in the next life is determined.

The Sokcho Committee for the Restitution of Cultural Heritage and Sinheungsa began consulting with the Met and conducting provenance research in 2023 to identify the painting, and they submitted a formal restitution request in October of last year. With support from the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation’s civic group program, the committee also recovered six Siwangdo panels from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2020. “Our cultural heritage holds its greatest meaning when it rests in its rightful place,” said Lee Sang-rae, a board member of the committee. "Efforts will continue to recover the remaining three panels."


Min Kim kimmin@donga.com